Monthly Archives: December 2007

The hubby and I are ringing in our first New Year as a married couple tonight. We are heading over to a friend’s for a quiet dinner and then probably coming back home before midnight. Our flight left Seattle at 10:20 last night. We got into Detroit at 6:30 am, Charlotte at 9:20 and finally Greenville just before noon. Since I can’t sleep on airplanes I am pooped. I’m hoping I can make it to see the first minutes of 2008. It may take some espresso.

On our last night together in Seattle my sister planned a special evening. Our only warning was that the guys had to wear a jacket. I’ve been to some nice restaurants in my life, but dress codes seem increasingly rare. Just before heading for downtown we learned we would be dining at Canlis- one of Seattle’s top restaurants. We’re talking mandatory valet, $3000 bottles of wine and gift cards wrapped in calf skin envelopes.

The neat thing about the night was that it was free. My sister received a $500 gift card as a Christmas present from her boss. (Nice, huh?) A $500 gift card to PF Chang’s would get you a free meal every month for a year, but at Canlis you can burn it in one night. And we did. We started with a Pheasant tart, continued with a Waldorf salad, and the pinnacle was the Muscovy duck breast. We finished off splitting an array of desserts including creme brulee and chocolate lava cake. It definitely ranks near the top of the best meals I’ve ever eaten.

Our bill came to $423 so with the tip we maxed out the gift card, leaving with untouched wallets, full stomachs and the tasty memory or our $500 meal.

We spent our first Christmas together with my family in Seattle. Overall the trip has been a sugar-coated good time, but it started a little rough. Our bags didn’t make it to Seattle. Tim and I found this odd since we sat on our plane in Minneapolis for a good two hours which seems like plenty of time to get a few bags on board. But somehow we ended up in Seattle and they didn’t.

My bag and Tim’s snowboard were the first to arrive. They showed up on Christmas Eve which was good because most of the Christmas presents were stuffed in my suitcase. But, my presents were in Tim’s bag. Tim was relieved though because he had one of my presents sent directly to Seattle, so he knew that one would be under the tree. But when we handed out presents it was no where to be found. Somehow after the UPS man delivered it- it disappeared.

It just reminded me that the presents don’t really matter anyway. Christmas is about your family and your friends and those that you love. And that’s what surrounded me. But there was a little Christmas miracle… Tim’s bag arrived on the morning of the 25th. And I unwrapped my new set of Dominoes. Just what I wanted.

Today I experienced true Christmas spirit. For the second year in a row my friends and I “adopted” the residents of Reedy Place. It’s an amazing facility that gives chronically homeless people a chance to change their lives. Reedy Place is essentially an apartment building where 15 people who have been through major lows, work their way back up into society. Many are disabled, recovering addicts, or ex-convicts. We ask the residents to make out a wish list, which usually contains things like coats, cleaning supplies, or a bed pillow- gifts you and I would find far too practical to get excited about.

We loaded up car fulls of presents and brought them over to Reedy Place. This year we had the pleasure of watching the residents open the gifts. And it was truly a joy. They were so excited. I’ve received some amazing gifts in my life, but I don’t know if I’ve ever gotten as excited as Yvonne did about her CD player or Emma about her cleaning supplies.

Here are a few pictures:

Levone got two new pairs of shoes.

Yvonne gave MG and hug to say thanks.

Glen told us he lives to make people smile.

This is Joshua. The director of Reedy Place is hoping to adopt him because his mom is on drugs. He’ll have a special Christmas thanks to two people who chipped in to get Joshua an XBox.

Angela loved her new TV and was even thankful for her pink sweatsuit… even though I don’t think pink was her color. :0)

This is Mr. Massey. He was wearing the coat we got him last year. And he had on his new shoes before we left.

The first time I saw Bruno he was a black blur running in front of my car. That was seven years ago. Through five moves, four break-ups, four jobs, and now getting married, that Miniature Pinscher has given me big support. He’s also given me some inspiration. Here’s the latest article Bruno prompted- he even got his picture published!

I got some exciting, unexpected news last night- one of my best friends is getting married! Thier engagement story is sweet. Al proposed to Melly last night at Minerva’s. It’s a restaurant in my hometown of Sioux City Iowa. Minerva’s is special to them because they were supposed to go there on their first date several years ago, but the plans were ruined. So finally, Melly and Al went to Minerva’s for another special occasion- their engagement!

I told Tim, it’s even more exciting to hear of friends getting married because I’ve already been through it. I know the thrill and extreme happiness that comes in that moment and all of the bliss that follows.

The funny thing is, Melly and Al plan to get hitched Labor Day weekend. That will be the fourth Labor Day in a row that I have spent at a wedding. (Including my own!) So in just a few more months another one of my friends will enter The Honeymoon Phase. All I have to say is,Melly and Al, welcome to the club!!

Christmas is eight days away. A week from now I’ll be with my family in Seattle, probably wearing slippers and making cookies. I can’t wait. But it seems there is an attack going on to kill my Christmas cheer. I won’t let it leave without a fight.

For one, I signed on to our bank account last night to work on our budget and noticed three charges to a website I had never heard of. At first I thought I had stumbled across my husband’s purchase for my Christmas present, but then I realized the charges were well over our $50 spending cap. Turns out, someone stole my debit card number and racked up some charges. I put a stop to my card number, but I probably won’t get a new one until we return from our trip. Plus I’m not sure when we’ll actually get that money back.

Secondly, I am sick. I’m fighting it, but I can’t deny that I am sick. Right now I really want to curl up on the couch and watch Oprah, but I’ve got an article I MUST finish. The deadline is tomorrow and deadlines don’t care about sore throats,congested airways and headaches. My co-worker’s husband just found out he has a very contagious strain of strep throat, which wouldn’t be of much concern to me except that I just hung out with him at our company Christmas party on Friday.

So Despite my disappearing bank account and my fading health (a little dramatic, I know) I’m humming along to carols because I’m full of Christmas cheer!